Azulaang Drabbles - Life In The Temples
by Stairhopper
Summary: Fate was just too cruel sometimes. He looked towards his wife from his landing stance half crouched on the floor, and asked one simple question in anguish. "Why?" At this, his nymph of a wife simply smiled and proceeded to explain, before stalking off. "I told you already, Aang. They were half baked."
1. Part 1: Half Baked

Part 1: Half Baked

Aang was happy, and it was a normal day on Air Temple Island, all things considering.

The children were out practicing their bending, the sky bison were grazing the extensive fields of watermelon that had been planted, the 'trainee' Air Nomads were progressing in leaps and bounds in their studies, and-

"AARGH!"

And his wife had found someone else to harm, evidently.

Aang sighed, rising out of his meditational position, and went to see what the commotion was all about. This had almost become a daily routine, with his partner either harassing, fighting, or verbally obliterating any random member of his society at any moment in the day.

As he traced the source of the growing commotion, he reminisced on how, after being dropped like a sack of sea prunes by that child-hunting cougar known as Katara (perhaps his wife had influenced him a little too much. Speaking of which, wasn't his wife older?), he had taken to doing what he loved best: helping people.

It was in this mission, that he discovered that he had overlooked the one major casualty from the war that everyone had forgotten about, and decided to help the former Princess and Fire Lord.

Their friendship grew slowly at first, and he even had the scar on his left cheek to show that even when her bending was temporarily blocked, she was still a formidable force. As time passed though (and by time, he meant something along the lines of three to four years), she had come to open up to him, and gained his trust, with the opposite also true.

Where their friendship stopped and their relationship began, he wasn't quite sure. One day he was in her cell, playing a game of Pai Sho over some of Iroh's world famous Jasmine Dragon special tea, and the next he had broken her out of the asylum, publicly declared her under strict Avatar protection, convinced the nations to leave her be, 'tied the knot', and lo and behold, had four children with her!

A smile painted his face at the memories, though another sigh escaped his lips as he came upon the sight of an unrecognizable baking room with scorch marks linings the walls, a weeping baker huddled in a far corner, and an irate Azula with a blue sparks dancing dangerously in between her fingers.

"Some things never change I guess..."

At the sound of his voice, his wife quickly ousted her pending attack, and spun around, and showed no hesitance in verbalizing the problem.

"Finally _dear _husband-"

Well this wasn't good, Aang summarized. She never called him dear unless she meant business, and when sarcastic, it often ended up with another banished Air Nomad...

He braced himself for the coming onslaught.

"-you have arrived. This worthless, incompetent, useless, Agni-forsaken-"

He zoned out, used to his wife's ramblings by now. The view of the ever-slumping baker in the corner of his vision was something though, and made him decide to pick up the occasional word, just to see which parts of the poor man's ego were being destroyed.

"-peasant-levelled-"

There went the pride of being his chief baker, he supposed.

"-sightless-"

A jab at the glasses? He'd admit it, the baker had never had perfect vision, though he did his job well enough. It was a bit harsh though...perhaps he ought to-

"-non-bender trash-"

_'Okay' _Aang concluded in thought _'Better intervene now...'_

"Ahem..."

Azula's now red face quickly settled down to a mild blush at the clear indication from her husband that her explanation had divulged into another tirade, but didn't lose her anger as she cut to the main story.

"Ah, yes. As I was saying, this _windbag _clearly isn't suited to serve you with his supposed 'talents' of baking any longer, with his latest creations-"

She wildly gestured towards the somehow immaculate row of fruit pies of varied colors for him to see, though the reaction of his watering mouth escaped her immediate notice.

"-being nothing short of _appalling_! I have yet to hear the name of these abominations, but I assure you, they will not even have the chance to acquire one! He even had the gall to state to me that it was the way they are meant to be baked! Have you even seen that base?! It's half done! Aang, as your advisor, and more importantly, your _wife_ I recommend that you remove this pathetic excuse of a baker from your numbers immediately!"

It was at this point that the Princess fully took note of her husband's condition, with his current location much closer to the pies than it had been to begin with, and his arm subtly beginning to reach for one of the sacred Air Nomad delicacies.

Suddenly, it all came together in Azula's mind. The baker's insistence on creating something special for Aang, the occasional rambles of said husband on a sacred Air Nomad delicacy comprising of a soft and almost gooey base, the questions as to whether she knew of her husband's favorite fruits...

These were sacred fruit pies!

She had just been shown as a complete fool, and her husband was exploiting this as a means to gain his favorite dessert! This would not do at all! A plan needed to be formed, something to enact revenge, however mild, was desperately need-

A smirk appeared on her lips. Oh, she had just the plan to make him pay. In the words of her grandfather Azulon (with some poetic license):

The baker had suffered enough, but Aang's punishment had scarcely begun!

She had said earlier that the pie bases themselves were half baked, so perhaps she could finish the job, hm?

It was at this moment that Aang decided to look up from his ever approaching goal to see the face of his wife, and determine whether he would have to make a mad dash for the food of gods or not, by attempting to read her expression.

The sight that greeted him, however, was not one of a stoic or enraged expression, but rather a wall of blue fire that raced to meet him head on. The choice was laid out. Either he died hugging a fruit pie, or he sacrificed his lost love and survived another day.

Now, he was no fool, and knew he would be reincarnated, but it just wasn't the same. There was no surefire guarantee that his water tribe self would even like fruit pies!

He made his choice not a moment too soon, and with the help of his bending, dived out of the way of the fire just before it consumed the pies.

Fate was just too cruel sometimes.

He looked towards his wife from his landing stance half crouched on the floor, and asked one simple question in anguish.

"Why?"

At this, his nymph of a wife simply smiled and proceeded to explain, before stalking off.

"I told you already, Aang. They were half baked."

* * *

Yeah, so I've had these shorts sitting on my hard drive since like...the end of 2012. Last time I edited them was the 14th of August 2013 (bar today). I've got 4.25 parts done so far, and you'll see why there's a 0.25 when you see the others. I'll probably upload one of these weekly, I'm not sure... Just say if you want me to shove all of them up or anything, I'm all for it! Also, if you want to see something happen, or want me to do an Azulaang short from an idea you've had, fire away!


	2. Part 2: Family Ties

Part 2: Family Ties

She flew down countless stairs as she ventured deep within the library of the Southern Air Temple. Her very own flying bison, Nula, was outside probably demolishing the recently grown melon trees in the area, and would be a dead giveaway to her location if a certain someone were to spot it by air.

That meant there was a limited time in which to complete her research.

Six hours. Two if he used common sense.

A flame roared to life in her palm, illuminating the dark recesses of the temple library, which was yet to be restored by those that lived here. They hadn't questioned her entering though. Anyone knew better than to do that. She was practically the mother of the Air Nation, with a temper to match the status, though she supposed that wasn't exactly a good thing.

Eventually she reached the thirty-fifth corridor. There was a bolted door.

"Knew I should've taken up that metalbending girl's offer to join me. I forget her name... Toph, was it?" Azula sighed "No use crying over spilt cactus juice, I'll just improvise."

And improvise she did, by blowing the door clean off its hinges.

"Right, these rows are meant to be in alphabetical order. I'm looking for A, so it should be in these first few rows."

The flame-filled palm rose to 'shed some light on the subject' of the first row of books, and dismally revealed the letter 'Z' carved in ornate writing on the wood. A curse escaped her lips.

"Agni! When I get home Aang, you're going to pay for the way your ancestors organized this dustbin in the most horrific way possible! Who on earth starts at Z?!"

Her pain promised, she ran down the corridor occasionally scanning shelves until, after what seemed like running the length of Ember Island, she happened upon the first shelf with the letter 'A'. Now came the time consuming part. Finding the right book.

"A guide to training your bison? No. A book on Fruit Pies, with Monk Gyatso? Hm, I'll keep that for later. Abnormal airbending techniques for pleas- ahem, I'll take that, if only to add a bit of variety to our activities. Aunt Li's book on Breath & Focus? Not for me..."

Now, Azula had never been one for books. Not even ones that involved new firebending techniques. No, she often preferred finding out how to complete tasks or do new things the hard way by trial and error, proving that she needed no one, even the form of words, to help her to perfection. As for fictitious books? Well, in her opinion, they were and still are a waste of time. Who needs to read fantasy when you can make most of it a reality? Like marrying the Avatar for example! She had seen many a book by those who had envied her position, and quite honestly, made quite a shamble of portraying the feeling of being married to the words most powerful man. Then again, perhaps it was because they simply weren't. The point is, she had never liked books, no matter what form, and today would not be an exception as she browsed upon the Air Nomad's vast collection of tomes. However, she did finally find the one she was after eventually.

"Ah, finally. Avatar, Volume Nine, Reincarnations."

This was what she had been searching for. The book on the Avatar's Reincarnations, and what they meant exactly. It held the knowledge that could either make, or break her. She was almost too scared to open it, but it had to be done.

Starting at page one (she thanked whatever deities had blessed the Air Nomads with an iota common sense), she worked her way through the tome, sweating profusely by the time she had reached the halfway point of the book, with no answer to her question. Still, she pressed on.

Finally, about three hours after starting the book, there it was.

She cried with happiness.

"Oh thank Agni! Finally my fears can be laid to rest! Finally!"

The steps behind her that accompanied a familiar voice swiftly brought her to her feet, and stopped her waterworks in the process.

"Azula? What fears?"

She just pointed to the page at which she had stopped and spoke.

"Paragraph five."

"_'The Avatar in him/herself is not reincarnated as many believe, but only the Avatar Spirit, which is a different entity entirely. At the time of an Avatar's death, the Avatar Spirit detaches itself from the mortal entity, and attaches itself immediately to the next child born in the elemental cycle. The reason an Avatar can see his/her past 'incarnations' is due to the spirit acting as a 'doorway' into the Avatar 'section' of the spirit world, which, evidently, is also how power and knowledge are channeled for the Avatar State. This clearly points out that each Avatar is a completely different person, and has no ties to the last, excluding the spirit, which has been passed on.'_"

Azula almost broke down in tears once more as the confirmation of her hopes were read once more.

"I don't understand though, Azula. Why were you so worried about this?"

Said Princess' mood dimmed slightly as she cursed every god she knew for making him without brain cells, but explained herself in one short sentence as she gave him an unexpected hug.

"_Because _Aang, it proves that you are most certainly _not _my grandfather Roku."

* * *

Alright, so this is a bit shorter than the last one... who am I kidding, it's pretty tiny. Not sure why I thought this was long back in the day, so I may put up two today, one later on in the evening. Thanks to albinokittens300 & WanderingSpectre for the reviews so far! I would put them all up, but I don't really want a dry spell afterwards...

Back to Transistor!


	3. Part 3: Personal Demons

Part 3: Personal Demons

His wife abruptly stood from the table.

"She's here."

Aang sighed as he met his children's questioning stares with a shake of his head that clearly said _'Honestly, you're better off not knowing' _and watched as his wife seemed to gracefully exit the room, but only just caught the decisiveness in her steps. They promised pain. It was long overdue though, as he had put off this meeting as long as he could, but knew the inevitable would happen eventually. Already he could feel the vibrations of the Air Nomads who had been outside rapidly making a mad dash for the safe confines of their own homes. They knew what was going to happen too. He sighed again before standing from the table himself, and motioning for the children to follow him with a small smile. It would be best if they stayed ignorant of their mother's grudges while he entertained them with some secret air and firebending tricks he had been waiting to pass on.

Out in the courtyard, however, no secret was being made of Azula's rage. Her usually calm exterior had given way for the oncoming conflict. _'Nine years...' _she thought_ 'Plenty enough time to prepare for a rematch.'_

As if to reaffirm her thoughts, she almost experimentally let arcs of lightning dance between her fingers. There was no need for fancy hand movements now, she could control the pure essence of fire at will. This would be a short battle to be sure.

Her eyes slid shut as a glimpse of blue fabric made its way into her vision, and she had to suppress the urge to launch herself to throttle the offending...person...that was making their way towards her. The newly fabricated moral compass which she now possessed was even further strained when the figure spoke with sugar-coated words.

"Azula! How...nice...to see you again!"

It was apparent that Toph didn't call her 'Sugar Queen' for nothing, seeing as she already felt nauseous from her mere presence.

"Katara."

"Oh don't be like that! It's been what? Nine years since I last saw you? Can't a girl simply catc-"

The waterbender's words were cut off abruptly as she deftly dived and rolled out of the path of a lightning bolt, raising an eyebrow as it took a chunk of stone out of a nearby wall.

"Now, was that really necessary?"

"That and more. Why are you here?"

A sigh followed Azula's question. "Straight to the point as ever. You haven't changed at all have you? Well, if you must know, I simply wanted to stop by to check up on _Aang. _It's been a while since we _talked._"

At this even Azula was shocked. Her mouth hung limply open as she struggled to make a coherent sentence. Here was this _scarlet woman _implying that she was going to make moves on _her _husband! When he had a _family_ no less! A quick mask of indifference fell upon her face, covering her barely restrained rage. This was no longer a rematch about her defeat.

"You would come _here _to try and steal _my _husband? How many men have you tainted with your machinations? Were they not enough?!"

At her words, Katara bit her lip to stop the ever growing torrent of anger from spewing forth.

"Why would you continue to torment Aang even now he has found happiness, after your newfound fame and all the men that came with it left him broken almost beyond repair?!"

It was this that caused the thin line of blood to appear on Azula's cheek, as she inhaled sharply, not expecting an attack so soon. Revenge was dished out soon enough, though not cold just yet, as a blue jet of flame hurtled toward the now battle-ready water tribe woman, all traces of friendliness wiped from her face, as she deftly sidestepped the oncoming projectile.

A water whip soon founds it's way being guided towards the ankle of her adversary, with the intent to disable her movement entirely, but stopped short as is evaporated with a hiss of steam. Katara's eyes narrowed as she straightened up to a standing position, noting her opponent doing the same. For one, it would do no good causing collateral damage to Aang's home, and also, she knew she was out matched with Azula in her right mind. A slight smirk worked its way to her lips as she responded to Azula's earlier question.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm quite ready to settle down."

"I think you'll find _your _Avatar is tak-"

"Oh please, we both know he only went for you because he couldn't have me at the time."

Though she would never admit it, and she knew they weren't true, the water peasants words hit her harder than she would've liked. It would appear that her time being with Aang had indeed banished her stony heart, and thus Azula gave silence in response to Katara's words.

"I do have to ask though. How did you get him to marry a deranged, insane princess such as yourself? How have you covered it up so long? You're nothing more than a _monster._"

Throughout the whole short speech, Azula's ire raised with every syllable, but it was the last word that brought the princess past the breaking point, as she flung flame after flame in the general direction of the waterbender, her eyes too moist with unshed tears to focus properly.

Katara simply evaded the onslaught as she noticed the reaction to her final word. It was widely known that Azula and her mother had reconciled a few years back with the help of Zuko, but apparently Ursa's choice of words still struck a chord, if the completely off-target azure flames were anything to go by.

The routine if ducking and weaving from the occasional flame that ventured too near continued for quite some time, as Katara thought on her current predicament. Yes, she had left Aang a couple of years after the war, but she could easily put that down to being young and slightly naïve. She had gone from being barely noticed, to having throngs of males throw themselves at her feet! Who would pass up an opportunity such as that?! Plus, there was the matter of the airbenders. Though Aang hadn't realized it then, she had come to realize that being with him would cause the burden of an entire nation to fall upon her shoulders. A burden she wasn't ready to carry at the time.

She deftly extinguished another flame, which turned her thoughts to the mad princess before her.

When news had first reached her that Aang had freed Azula and taken her under his wing, she had honestly thought that it was simply his natural inclination to do so, being the Avatar and all. It soon became apparent though when news of their impending marriage came forth that either Aang had become as insane as his _fiancé _or said fiancé had somehow managed to pull the sky bison fur over the Avatar's eyes and had him believe she had changed.

Another sidestep was taken in order to evade a particularly deadly shot of cold fire.

_'__Definitely the latter' _The waterbender concluded as she noticed the ceasefire and plainly manic expression on Azula's face. _'Just like old times, too'._

Something else was brought to her attention though, as she attempted to bend the water which had fallen around her. She couldn't. It was then that she spied a certain airbender as he calmly walked over to the scene, coming up behind his wife. Whatever she expected to happen next most definitely didn't, as Azula lowered her head in shame, and Aang swiftly drew her into a warm embrace.

"Watch what you say, Katara. Sound has a way of echoing through these halls."

"Aang I-"

"You should leave."

This time it was Katara's turn to bow her head as she pondered her words. They were all true, weren't they?

"But she-"

"Is the most wonderful person I have ever met, no matter what you choose to believe or hold against her. I forgave her for everything she ever did long ago."

The air nomad saw his once best friend and lover make the motions to begin speaking, and decidedly cut her off once more.

"And don't even think of using what just happened here as an example. Everyone has someone who brings out the worst in them, Katara. It just happens to be a coincidence that you are both that person for each other."

The targeted girl merely sighed, knowing that her former pupil was right, before following his earlier instructions, and turning to leave the island. Perhaps she could rebuild the bridge with him one day, once she had let go of her romantic attachments, along with the deep grudge against his wife. In her mind though, she knew that those demons wouldn't give up easily.

That said, little did she know of the demons she had unearthed for a certain princess, who's only consolation was the arms of her husband, who held her long into the evening.

* * *

A bit different to the usual lightness I suppose, but hey! A little variation never hurt anyone...I think. Parts 4.1 & 4.2 should be a little better though! And yes, I did go through a little bit of anti-Katara stage. It's passed now thankfully, I'm more of an any pairing guy. However, I'll probably only write Azulaang...


	4. Part 4: Pseudo Avatar - Air

Part 4: Pseudo Avatar - Air

The great beast simply yawned and snorted in answer to her question, coating her in a fresh layer of Mucus, which she promptly wiped from her eyes.

"I ask for lessons, and you give me...this?! That's it! I'm through with you!"

Azula began to storm off, before quickly cooling down and walking back to her original seating point, realizing her anger.

"Fine, I'll agree we got off on the wrong foot on that one."

Appa gave a snort that seemed to resemble a hearty laugh. Azula saw the resemblance too.

"Yes, laugh it out. You wouldn't be laughing if you were the one coated in mucus!"

She sighed before resuming her meditational position.

"Let's try this again, shall we? I, Azula, would _kindly appreciate _it if you could teach me airbending."

It sounded and looked even more idiotic that she had first imagined it would. Here she was, sitting before a 'technically' ancient sky bison, asking it to give her lessons in airbending. To any passerby, it would seem like she had gone mad, but she knew better. Aang had told her tales of how the first settlers in all of the lands had been taught the art of bending the elements by indigenous creatures and spirits, causing the four nations to take root. For the Fire Nation, it had been the dragons. The Water Tribes, the moon spirit. The Earth Nation, the badgermoles. Finally, there was the Air Nation, who's pioneer species she was now attempting to communicate with. Having re-learnt firebending from the dragons as a form of life (though destruction to her was always an option), she believed that the four elements could be learnt by anyone from the sources, as long as they had the patience and skill to master them. In her opinion, her husband merely had an unfair start, as being the Avatar also carried a built in attunement to all arts of bending.

The set mission was to at least learn the basics of all four arts before her Avatar returned from leasing in the Earth Kingdom with the kids for two months. This was not just for her obvious benefit though, as representing the four nations with elemental power also, but more for Aang's. She saw how, even though being the Avatar brought his great job from being able to sort out and end people's problems, it also brought him a sort of loneliness. He was a truly unique person. The only person to have mastered all types of bending. She would never forget the palpable sadness that filled his eyes when a child of the Fire Nation had run up to him whilst they were visiting her brother Zuko, and asked in all innocence to be taught airbending, only to be told softly "Sorry, only the Avatar can learn more than one element..." before sadly walking away.

It was that day that had led her to this current position, sitting in front of Appa, asking to be taught how to bend the most intangible element of all. All she needed now was the great lump of fur to cooperate, though she doubted that would be an easy task. Rumor also had it that the bending teachers had to assess the worth of their students through tests, save anyone learn their art. _'What test a sky bison could possibly have for me' _she thought_ 'I've no idea...' _Her attention was quickly gained as the bison made a small grunt of apparent approval, before motioning to the melon tree that had produced fruit not long ago.

A grimace worked its way onto her face as the sky bison grunted in amusement again.

"You watch yourself, Appa." Azula snarled as she got up from her seated position "There are plenty other bison in the sky now."

She smiled as the grunting immediately stopped. Intimidation was still a worthy weapon it seemed.

What she didn't see was the wink (or as close the bison could get) Appa sent towards the rafters of his stable.

_'__Mission accomplished.'_

* * *

Okay okay, so this was extremely short, don't worry the other two parts are longer! I just had this idea in my head when I wrote this (and still kind of do, despite the LOK Lion Turtle revelation), that with enough power and determination, all four elements could be learnt by anyone. Forgive me for going off on a tangent with this little arc! Anyways, I've got the next two chapters written up anyways, so expect them...when I get off Terraria...and can actually use my computer.

Thanks to all those who have reviewed, followed, and favorited so far!


	5. Part 4: Pseudo Avatar - Water

Part 4: Pseudo Avatar - Water

Azula sat at the water's edge in a meditational position.

Had she learned airbending from that fluffy lummox eventually?

Yes.

Well, partially.

She sighed while lying back on the sand and manipulating the air currents between her fingers, before closing her eyes. Sure, she was no master by any stretch. Just manipulating natural air currents to a slight degree almost completely drained her. Still, practice made perfect, and practice she would. It didn't exactly help that all Appa did was request melons and fly around in vague shapes... but she got the idea eventually.

_'Learning airbending is childs play compared to this though!' _Azula thought, letting a flame ignite in her hand_ 'In fact, learning any form from the masters except this one seems like a walk in the park!'_

Communicating with animals was easy once a connection was established. Everyone knew that. The dragons had recognized her inner firebender, Appa...well he was just used to her by now (not that he actually had any say in the matter), and she supposed the badgermoles would lighten up if she brought Toph along. Maybe.

All of that paled in comparison to waterbending though.

How in the name of the Avatar was she meant to learn from a floating piece of rock?!

_'I guess we just follow the moon' _Aang had said when she innocently queried him one day_ 'Just as it pushes and pulls the water, we can too. It's...a bit hard to explain...'_

So according to the almighty elemental god, she was just supposed to follow the moon?

_'Maybe I would'_ she thought with a snarl _'If the useless sphere would talk!'_

When no reply to her inner anger was forthcoming, she swiftly concluded that Agni was more verbal. By a mile.

Suddenly the overwhelming urge to yawn came to Azula, and her current position wasn't helping matters.

_'Speaking of Agni, I'm meant to rise with him, not this lesser light. I'll just do some research tomorrow. The tide won't come in this far anyway.'_

No sooner had she started drifting off though did she receive a sharp jab to her side.

Assassins? She thought those times had passed!

Azula's eyes flew open as she leapt to her feet, and her hands ignited in azure flames.. Before she comically extinguished said flames and used said hands to shield her now practically blinded eyes.

"Sorry about that, I forget its dark at night. Being a spirit can do that to you..."

Spirit? Partially Azula opened her eyes as they gradually adapted to the light coming from a woman standing opposite her. Ah, so this was the water tribe princess-turned-moon-spirit she had heard so much about. Self proclaimed 'Captain Boomerang' certainly had reason to love her, from the looks of things. The water peasant had taste, that was for sure. Spirit or not though, it was a pretty rude awakening.

"And the jab?"

Yue raised her eyebrow before speaking.

"Either I could coo to you until you awoke, wake you with the ocean, or jab you."

"-"

A hand stopped Azula from interrupting.

"And before you ask, I'm not one for shouting, so it was hardly an option."

A resigned sigh met her explanation before she continued.

"Anyway, I was watching you attempt to waterbend earlier, and thought I may as well come down to help you out."

At those words Azula was so relieved she almost threw herself at the spirit's feet. Almost. Instead she initiated the usual pupil teacher scenario.

"It would be an hon-"

"On one condition."

There were catches to bending now? This was new. Either way, Azula nodded to her potential Sifu to carry on.

"You see, despite being a spirit for a few years now, I still have mortal attachments, and can create new ones. If Sokka's spoken about me I'm sure you know what I mean."

Azula was pretty certain she knew where this was headed...

"Don't jump to conclusions though, I'm well over Sokka now. I've set my sights on a...grander prize, if you will."

Or not.

"I was disinterested in him at first, but time has definitely changed him for the better. I'm sure you know..."

_Now_ Azula knew where this was headed. She just wasn't certain she even wanted to.

"If you haven't figured it out yet, all I'll say is that he can come into the spirit world to visit me... Anyti-"

"No."

The spirit made a cross between an extremely dejected face and an angry one.

"Why though?! It would only be on the full moons! You've no idea what it's like, having the world's most powerful man bending your water!"

Azula made an incredulous face at the choice of words, and weighed up the options as she noticed a sea storm mirroring Yue's emotions. Was this spirit crazy? Yes. Should she just agree to save her skin, learn waterbending, and perhaps add some potential fun to the full moons? Maybe. In all honesty the offer didn't sound half bad, and since she was a spirit it wasn't like she'd be there all the time. It wouldn't exactly be polygamy either. Still, the idea wasn't exactly thrilling, but under the circumstances she supposed she could get used to it...

"I can't believe I'm saying this... but okay, fine. Just the full moons though."

Whatever she expected to happen next didn't though, as Yue formed an inhumanly large smile, and dropped on the sand in a seated position, beckoning Azula to do the same. Needless to say she did so cautiously.

"You have no idea how happy you've made me..."

'I can kind of guess' Azula thought in a deadpan.

"...I finally get to lead a mortal life! Well...kind of!"

'Looks like the definition of mortal is pretty shallow these days...'

"If you're wondering about the full moons though, it's the only time I can become fully corporeal. So there's no need to worry about me all the time!"

'Thank Agni for that!'

A soft giggle broke her trail of thought and she looked at Yue.

"What?"

The giggle broke out into fully fledged laughter as Yue replied.

"It's just your face! Has anyone ever told you how funny you look when you're serious?"

A hit to the face Azula could take, sure, but being made fun of? She was still a work in progress on that front.

"No, I imagine they were most likely wondering if they could get out of the situation without being burned alive."

Yue simply smiled.

"Aw, don't be so uptight! I know you've pretty much signed your husband away to be shared, but you'll get used to it!"

This topic had to go away. Now.

"That's great, but aren't you meant to be teaching me waterbending right about now?"

"Yes, yes, but everyone knows effective training only happens when the Sifu has a good relationship with the pupil! So..."

Yue leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner, and Azula immediately felt intimidated. She wasn't ready for girl talk. Not now. Not with her.

"...What's it like being with the Avatar?"

It was then Azula decided she should've stuck with talking to the moon spirit when she was exactly that.

A moon.

* * *

Two chapters in two days! This one slightly longer! I don't have much to say on the end of this one, just let me know what you think!


	6. Part 4: Pseudo Avatar - Earth

Part 4: Pseudo Avatar - Earth

Azula's eyes widened as another earth boulder seemed to materialize before her eyes, before deftly side-stepping the oncoming offending pile of rubble. This was getting ridiculous. How many boulders could a giant lumbering badgermole throw per second?! Sure, they were masters, but their speed just defied physics!

"Toph! I thought you said the badgermole would teach me!"

Said earthbender paused filing her toenails (it was much easier to keep them short these days), and felt the vibrations from her rocky perch in the side of a cliff. She smiled as she noticed the badgermole's movements. It was only playing! Still, she _had_ told Azula the badgermole could help her earthbend… even if she wasn't exactly sure of that herself. Maybe it would just be like teaching Aang…

"You have to be unmovable, Hot Stuff! Feel the earth! Command it!"

Back on the ground, Azula looked towards the direction of the heiress' voice with an expression akin to the phrase _'You what?'_, while still evading the stony projectiles. Unfortunately, her lapse of concentration had caused a boulder to wander dangerously close, and panic set in as a directed air blast scattered dust everywhere. She never noticed the next boulder closely behind it.

On hearing the telltale whoosh of airbending, and the following thud coupled with a groan of pain, Toph rolled her eyes and leapt out her stony hammock and approached the now retreating badgermole. Azula would be fine for now, she'd taken worse knocks before.

"Don't be like that! I know she's having a bit of trouble, but she can he solid as a rock in her beliefs and goals! All you need to do is get her to translate that into earthbending!"

The badgermole stopped its retreat and did a slow 180, looking at its friend with unbridled skepticism.

After about a minute of staring the badgermole came to the conclusion that either he had taught his human friend too well, her blindness had some serious advantages, or both. Either way, he decided to give the now fallen pseudo-avatar a chance. It would be a lie to say she hadn't piqued his interest. It was the first human he had seen to wield more than one element, save the Avatar. The novelty had worn off though as she subconsciously rejected the earthbending teachings.

Maybe he just hadn't been clear enough.

_'More boulders ought to do the trick...'_

For Azula, her thoughts were the opposite as she rolled over in pain.

"Ugh, damn badgermoles. Damn Toph... Damn earthbendi-!"

A swift kick to her midsection had her biting her tongue to hold back a slew of colourful words as a blurry vision of Toph refocused.

"I'd watch what you say about earthbending and the badgermoles around me, Princess."

_'Ah, Toph always was a bit defensive about the badgermoles'_ Azula thought as she rose from the floor.

"Well, maybe I'd be a bit kinder if your Sifu would stop throwing earth at me and actually teach me something."

"Er, what did you think he was doing stupid? You're meant to be unmovable, even in the face of a boulder."

"What ki-"

"I've persuaded him to give you a other try, so just...don't disappoint."

Azula thinned her lips, nodded in acceptance and resignation...mostly resignation, and planted her feet firmly in the ground. Horse stance. Toph moved aside and leapt back to her perch a few seconds later, giving Azula a clear view of the badgermole opposite.

She watched as a boulder rose out of the earth and barreled towards her.

_'Unmovable, stronger than earth...'_

She pulled a fist back and coiled her muscles for the inevitable, and then she felt it.

The vibrations of the earth. The movements of the world.

Then, as she struck forwards with her fist she felt the shattering of the earth into fine dust.

As the dust cleared however Azula spied a somewhat shocked badgermole, and decided to try something new. Focusing on her lingering connection to the earth she smirked and worked her way past the initial resistance, pulling an undignified chunk of land into the air, before launching it at her opponent.

What she didn't expect however, was the badgermole to catch the land with a twinkle in his eye, and silently raise a pebble to knock her out from behind.

_'Upstarts'_ he thought with a grin, before nodding to his pupil on the cliff and meandering away. She could handle that one, not him.

Up on the perch Toph burst out in laughter at what she'd just witnessed. How many years on and Hot Stuff still had that unshakable self-confidence. Sifu had sure knocked her down a peg or two! As she calmed down however she picked up some slight vibrations in the earth...almost...

Quickly she raised a hollow cylinder of earth at the top of the cliff, trapping her prey which made an undignified squeal. The cylinder was then transported through the cliff to her perch, and subsequently smashed open, revealing a sheepish Avatar.

"You should know better than to sneak up on your Sifu, Twinkle Toes."

"Ah, well...I was just leaving... Honestly!"

Toph raised an eyebrow. It was a wonder Azula hadn't taught him to lie effectively... Then again... Why would she?

"Fine... I've just been checking on Azula, if you must know."

"Since when did you know about her elemental goddess quest?"

"Eh...since she learnt airbending? Complete coincidence I'm telling you..."

Seems like he was telling the truth... That or he was on another air ball. A quick earth pillar took care of the problem either way.

"Ow! What gives?!"

"Just checking for any air tricks you might be using..."

"..."

"Anyway, you know I'm not easily impressed... But I've gotta ask... How is Princess Sparks even doing this?"

She heard Aang sigh as he looked up to the clouds.

"To be honest I've no clue. It's the first I've ever heard of it, except myself of course... Could just be her determination and power. She's got a lot of both, we know that."

Toph nodded while feeling the earth for the vibrations of said Princess. She'd be waking up soon, if her breathing pattern was anything to go by.

"Can she mix bending like you do?"

"No...not yet at least. Airbending still drains her for some reason, I've noticed. It might be because she hasn't been taught much. She's taken a couple of waterbending scrolls though, which I think she's learning to mix with fire..."

A raised eyebrow accompanied Toph's next question.

"Think you'll teach her when she _reveals _the news?"

This time Aang laughed as he listened to Tophs tone, before clamping his mouth shut, noticing Azula stirring below. He turned to whisper to Toph.

"Depends if she reveals them by challenging me to some Avatar to Avatar combat for following her! I could be out for weeks!"

Then, with an impish grin he launched himself up with a gust of wind before vanishing off Toph's radars entirely.

Once he was gone, Toph dropped down next to Azula, and toe poked her in the face. The effect was immediate.

"Ack! What? Toph? Where's the badgermole?"

Toph inwardly sniggered before putting her hand to her head to block the sun and 'looking' around.

"Aw fire flakes! You must've missed him Princess! Better luck next time I always say!"

A momentary look of confusion covered Azula's face before she realized she'd been insulted and stood abruptly, brushing off her clothes.

"Suppose I'll have to train with you then..."

_'Jheez! What's wrong with this woman?'_ Toph thought _'Isn't she a little hungry at least?!'_

"Hold on there eager beaver! I don't know about you, but I'm hungry! Food at my place first, training later."

"Using airbender tactics now are we?"

Toph thought to wipe the smirk off her friend's face herself, but came up with a better way.

"Yes, more for your sake than mine though. The badgermole bested you with a pebble. I wouldn't have been so merciful."

And with that, Toph left Azula standing in canyon with a face of sheer horror.

* * *

First of all, are leapt and must've even words? I have my doubts, but they should be added to the dictionary anyways. They're totally legit.

Secondly, as you've noticed I've surfaced from the post E3 Steam Summer Sale era, and actually got around to uploading this. Hopefully it's within a...um...acceptable time period.

Thirdly! (May I just say thirdly doesn't even sound like a word, yet it's legit?) I'm away for a little while, but I'll be typing on the go, and hopefully have another chapter (or two) to humbly submit to you guys when I return!


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